“Scarvinians armada, M’Lord, they’ve locked on to us.”

“I see them, General. Let them come. Maybe we’ll be a better target to them, rather than the princess’s home planet.”

“What now, sir?”

“Move the fleet in and destroy the rest of the ships in our path, General Baltarus.”

“Aye, Lord Jaden…”

The two men sat side by side in their command chairs that overlooked the main bridge. It cascaded row upon row, sinking downward into the opulently golden technical marvel as officers of every rank and stature dutifully did their tasks. Through a communications channel in his armrest, the rotund elderly General stroked his crafted mustache and beard before giving the orders.

From where they sat, the ship’s large domed window presented a spectacular view of the battle occurring out in deep space. Ships of every size and shape were moving about at various speeds as plumes of explosions littered the melee like celebratory fireworks. The planet of Corvana Six was within the main window’s view, a beautiful world of green and blue, with swirls of large white clouds surrounding it like a veil. Two dual rings of asteroids orbited the world like shimmering string of white pearls, giving a faint glow of the light refracting from the planet itself.

Jaden stood up from his chair, giving his well-tailored grey-blue military suit jacket a slight adjustment, and glared at the battle ensuing.

“The princess needs our help, General.”

“As does all of Corvana, young one.” He stated back. “The fleet is doing its best to break through the enemy’s blockade.”

Jaden nodded and brushed his short red hair back in frustration. That gave the elder general pause, glancing over at the young ruler. He’d seen him do that before, but only when the young man was contemplating something foolish and irrational. Jaden turned to him, directing his hand to the battle scene.

“I promised her father, King Yassar, that I would not fail in my duty. Yet, here I am, late to the battle and breaking my promise, both to him and her.”

“The surprise attack on our fleet two jumps back delayed us, but we are here now…” The General assured him.

“There are too many, Baltarus…” Jaden grumbled. “They may have the upper hand on us.”

“We will succeed.” General Baltarus confidently smirked at him. He pointed at their fleet vessels taking positions around the planet, the fighters pouring out of the undersides and causing havoc for the enemy vessels closing in. “Take heed of our forces out there, they are thirsty for victory, all because of you, my young sire. You led our soldiers through the worst, now they look prove themselves in battle. Failure is the last thing on any of their minds.”

The young man paced about, looking unsure of the outcome of their late arrival. The general could see the worry on his face and tried to reassure him.

“You must have patience, my boy.” He directed Jaden’s attention to planet and motioned his finger to the upper quadrant of it. “You can see here that the lines are already thinning out, we may yet get a shuttle down there and…”

“Excellent idea, General,” Jaden remarked back. “I shall lead the way with my best troops to secure the castle on the surface.”

“That’s not what I…”

“Hail the landing bay, and have them prepare for my arrival.”

Before the Baltarus could grab the young man’s arm, stopping him from such a foolish tactic, Jaden activated the platform in front of his chair, and lowered downward, hovering over the heads of all the busy officers. He was heading for the main floor below. From there, he would take the main tube and continue riding down to the landing bay. The old general grumbled with a roll of his eyes. He tapped the communicator again and begrudgingly gave the order.

“Lord Jaden commands his shuttle be prepared, all guards to their stations, weapons and armour at the ready.”

“Aye, sir…” A male voice responded. “Shall we deploy the decoy shuttles as a diversion?”

Baltarus poised in thought for a moment. It was a good idea, and he almost seemed bothered he didn’t think of it first. He glared over to the battle ensuing beyond the ship and nodded in agreement.

“A wise precaution, make sure those decoy pilots make it look convincing.”

“Aye-aye, sir…”

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* * *

Jaden rushed through the labyrinth of corridors as he slapped on his armour being handed to him by various aides joining him. While most of the soldier brigade was clad in black, red and white, Jaden’s was that of black and grey, with golden arm pads to signify his nobility. The golden family crest was branded on his right shoulder, and a glowing blue shield generator on the left. The energy from it pulsated softly as the suit clicked together, the buttons on Jaden’s arm pads lit up and flashed to signal its readiness.

Approaching the main shuttle bay, another group of guards saluted to him and waited on either side of the doorway. One of them stepped out and blocked his path before entering.

“Your personal guards are ready to join you, Lord Jaden. But, I must strongly protest your action of heading down to the surface before our men have secured it safely for you.”

“I will not stand idly by when push comes to shove, Captain Philponi, the princess is in need…”

“Exactly, m’lord…” He cut off sharply. “She is a priority, of course, but, we must make sure that you are safe and out of harm’s way as well.”

Jaden grew impatient, he scowled at the man before him and glared at him.

“Did General Baltarus give you instructions for this? Or was this the command from my father, The Duke? Was it? Did he say these words to you? Did he?”

“M’lord… I… uh…”

“Did he?” Jaden pressed. “Yes or no?”

“He did, yes…” The man lowered his eyes in shame. “I’m sorry, Lord Jaden, he was quite adamant for us to enforce this.”

Jadan scowled, he glared at all the guards by the door, and not one would meet his gaze. His father, Duke Salbator, the governor of the Kroynex System, ensured that all the soldiers on Jaden’s vessel vowed to protect the young lord at any cost. Jaden was no stranger to this abuse of parental authority, blocking him from other battles of the past. But that was when he was just a child, when he knew nothing of the dangers of war. He was a man now, a youthful, brash, and very skilled soldier of many years. His father tried so many times to shield him from such ruthless conflicts, but with so much going on in the galaxy, it was only a matter of time before he’d be thrusted into the Frey.

“I see…” Jaden stated. He looked back at his entourage behind and back at the chief guard again. “I don’t suppose I could countermand that order…”

“I’m afraid not, m’lord,” The guard glanced up at him. “You know the penalty for disobeying it.”

“Yes,” Jaden exhaled. “I do, all too well I’m afraid.”

Jaden checked his armour, motioning to the other behind him to hand him his helmet. The battle vestments were also doubling as a spacesuit, the helmet could seal around the neck collar when attached. Jaden placed it to his side and raised his chin up.

“Then I guess you will all have to join me on this mission, because I do not intend to stop from going down there and rescuing my beloved princess from danger.”

The guards looked at each other in confusion. Even the chief guard blocking him glared up in puzzlement.

“But, my lord…” He scorned, motioning hand around. “We are to keep you here, out of harm’s way.”

“Did my father say that precisely to you?”

“Well, umm… no… not directly.” The man stammered back. “But, it was implied that…”

“Then, you can protect me on the way and when we go through the courtyards of my beloved’s palace.” Jaden smirked. The guard seemed reluctant to agree and struggled to answer back. Jaden braced his shoulder passively. “Don’t worry, you’re still fulfilling your duty to me and him. Besides, I won’t tell him you if you won’t.”

The guard smiled back and agreed heartedly. Jaden was an honourable man, a great warrior, and would be an outstanding leader to all their people one day. He nodded to his men to accept, and they all replied the same in kind. The entire brigade, including the personal guards, followed Jaden as he walked into the shuttle bay and boarded the awaiting vessel.

* * *

The shuttle hastily launched away from the massive flagship, with the other decoys close behind, and then took off in opposite directions. It was a clever ruse. It fooled the enemy fighters as they quickly tried to engage each one. Jaden’s shuttle avoided all of them, as it fired and destroyed the few that came within the shuttle’s perimeter. Once they were gone, the shuttle broke through the planet’s atmosphere and descended to the large opulent palace that sat on a lone island in the middle of a large, deep blue lake.

Before the doors could finish opening up upon landing, Jaden leapt out with his gun blazing toward the awaiting enemy combatants, they desperately tried to stop him from setting foot on the ground, but were unsuccessful. Jaden then scurried to the main palace door and was surprised as the young Princess came rushing out to greet him.

“Jaden!” She proclaimed.

“Shanta!” He responded, gripping her tight as she lovingly embraced him.

“Oh, thank the stars you have come You kept your promise! I love you…” She kissed him.

While he wished that moment to go on forever, Jaden pulled away and aimed his weapon towards the door.

“We’re not safe yet. I’ve got to free your father as well.”

“He’s dead…” She stated.

“Dead?” Jaden glared. “No… that can’t be.”

“He’s dead Jaden.” She wept. “I’m sorry… but, it’s too late. For all of us…”

“What do do you mean?”

She glared back at the palace and pointed.

“They activated the Graviton Collider. It’s on a build up to overload. They started it the minute your ship entered our space. They killed my father, and all who served him. They kept me alive… for bait.”

“I’ll go in there and…”

“You can’t Jaden.” She pressed her hand to his chest, keeping him in place. “Those few guards were all that were left. To keep me and to trick you. And now, now this place will be swallowed into the infinite void. The entire planet, with you and me, and anything in orbit.”

Jaden saw the truth of it in her eyes. The Graviton Collider was a terrible machine that could tear the fabric of space and time into a pocket of unknown reality. An awful weapon that the enemy had threatened to use if they did not give in to their demands. Jaden dropped his blaster and held his face in defeat. Princess Shanta embraced him again. The two kissed and held each other.

“In the darkness we shall live my love…” She said. “Forever and together… always…”

“So be it…” He nodded, giving her one more kiss.

Abruptly, a large energy bolt shout out of the palace, streaking to the very sky and then absorbing the entire world in a massive sphere of light. The surrounding orbiting ships exploded into balls of fire. The shining world pulsated for a few moments, and then, like a snap of a finger, the planet shot away into a large black hole, which then collapsed inward, and was gone.